It was surprising when reports started circulating that the Houston Astros were taking phone calls about potentially moving their ace Framber Valdez this offseason.

For a team in “win now” mode, this doesn’t feel like a move that would help them accomplish their goal of winning a third World Series title.

But when contextualized about where the franchise is right now financially and how poorly they are set up for the future, a trade involving Valdez makes much more sense.

So, what are the updates about what the Astros are doing with these phone calls about their ace?

Well, the silence has been eerily deafening.

No MLB insiders have reported any trade conversations or packages put together that feature Houston’s left-hander. The only thing that is known is teams are calling to gauge his availability.

It’s also not clear what the Astros would be looking for in return.

One would imagine that trading a pitcher who finished inside the Top-10 in back-to-back AL Cy Young voting results would garner a massive package involving an MLB player and multiple prospects.

Interested teams might be those who are contenders or who want to become contenders.

The Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and New York Yankees all come to mind when thinking about potential trade partners.

Yet, nothing has been reported about conversations happening with these teams.

Valdez is still an elite starter for Houston and projects to be their ace of the future when Justin Verlander eventually retires. Trading him just for the sake of some finances getting freed up seems like a backwards move with this roster.

Without anything of substance yet, the idea that the Astros would actually trade Valdez might end up being just a blip on the offseason radar.